In an article written by columnist Jan Moir, she opens by saying, "No, I don't suppose Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik smoking a joint is the end of civilisation as we know it. The walls of Jericho will not come tumbling down."

She later adds, however, "Yet One Direction are in a cynical class of their own. That’s why I feel they simply cannot brush off this incident as an irrelevance, a fuss about nothing, a ‘what’s the big deal’?

Ouch! In her column, she goes on the criticize many aspects of the band. Some excerpts from the full column include:

"One Direction are the biggest-selling group in the world. And their rise to the top has been cynical and exploitative, even by grasping music industry standards."

"[They] can't have it both ways. They cannot shake down millions of little girls, emptying their piggy-banks and pink plastic purses of all their pocket money without feeling even a whisker of responsibility."

"In the tuck shop of pop, bands don’t come any more manufactured. They were put together in 2010 by Simon Cowell from a bunch of X Factor rejects, and from then till now the members have done very little to improve their musicianship, to learn a musical instrument or even write a song."

"Like so many before them, they take fame for granted, raking in the cash and feeling it will never end."

Liam Payne didn't take kindly to Moir's criticism and addressed the article through a series of tweets.

It seems Liam is taking responsibility for their actions on behalf of the rest of the band. What do you think, Directioners? Does Liam need to defend themselves or are the criticisms unwarranted?